1984

by Alison

on 28 August 2017

Holy cow, we were on vacation for two weeks then I took an extra Monday to see the eclipse. During that time I reread “1984”. Wow, it’s so dark and disturbing and particularly timely as we all walk around with telescreens, not just on every wall, but also in our pockets!

Believe it or not even, “1984” has some tooth talk. When our protagonist, Winston, finally gets to talk to his soon to be girlfriend, Julia, he says, “I’m thirty-nine years old. I’ve got a wife that I can’t get rid of. I’ve got a bad knee. I’ve got five false teeth.”

Winston clearly equates missing teeth with imperfections. And it gets worse. Winston spends a good bit of time being interrogated and tortured. His tormentor says, “Nine, ten, eleven teeth left. How many did you have when you came to us? And they are dropping out of your head. Look here!” He then pulls one of Winston’s front teeth out with his fingers and throws it across the cell.

Losing teeth is so repugnant to me, especially like that. I would tell them anything; say anything to stop such torture. But in the novel losing teeth isn’t Winston’s big fear. I could go on and on about this novel, so instead, I will just say I think everyone should read it. It’s super short and very relevant.

The double top secret discount for today is 15% off for the first person to write a response to this blog. Does not apply for people with discounted dental plans, and one per patient per month.

If you’d like to discuss “1984” or dentistry give us a call 703-532-1712 FallsChurchSmiles.com